


Still get jealous

by TheIronThrone



Category: DCU
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/M, Jealous Arthur, Jealousy trope, Mentions of the Justice League - Freeform, Tropes, tropes galore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 00:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17293910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIronThrone/pseuds/TheIronThrone
Summary: Arthur Curry never considered himself a jealous man. He never had a girl to feel protective over. Sure, he had his string of one night stands, a relationship here and there (though though those could hardly be called relationships) but he never felt the so called green-eyed monster, until his Mera, that is.Or: 5 times Arthur gets unnecessarily jealous+1 time he didn’t have to





	Still get jealous

**Author's Note:**

> So I’ve been out of the fanfiction game for a hot minute, but I saw the movie and fell in love, so I thought why not? This was meant to be a Drabble but it kinda spiraled out of control. 
> 
> Tumblr @bath-of-starlight

1.  
He was nervous, while Arthur was widely and graciously accepted as king, both his mother and Mera insisted on a traditional Atlantean coronation. 

So Arthur stood in the throne room, trident in hand, as he gazed down at his people. And after being crowned and presenting a speech about his hopes for the future, Arthur was content in sitting on his new throne, watching as the nobility gossiped amongst themselves, all dressed to perfection. 

The most glorious, of course, was his Mera. Dressed in a silvery green gown, adorned with shells and sequins, she looked absolutely radiant. Her hair in a braided up-due, she stood out in the crowd, as she smoozed with the others in the court. 

Sweet music was playing as many abandoned their tables and went to dance, swaying softly in the water. A moment later he lost sight of Mera and assumed she had went to dance. For a reason unbeknownst to him at the time, this made Arthur upset, but before he could become too angry, he saw his princess swiftly gliding towards him. 

She looked even more beautiful up close; now he could see the jewels circling her eyes, the delicate color of her lips, the way her hair shone, gods, she was mesmerizing.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” She teased. Sure, maybe at first he had been very against having a traditional ceremony. He argued that he wasn’t a traditional king, so why should he have a traditional coronation. 

But the harder Mera pushed, the harder he found it to say no. So he had the traditional coronation with the traditional ball. All for her.

“It was pretty bad” Arthur replied. 

At least it was from his perspective, he was nervous and stuttering. So mainly he was seeking affirmation that maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought. 

“You were wonderful, you’re going to be wonderful.” Her eyes were full of kindness. 

Arthur scoffed. 

“I’m serious, but you’ve been sitting all night, come dance with me, I’ve spoken to so many people anxious to meet you.”

Her offer was appealing, Mera presses up against his body, her head tucked under his chin. Yet the idea of the entire population watching them outweighed the benefits. 

“As amazing as that sounds, this is a lot, I’m  
just...”

“Taking it all in.” Mera finished, she understood him, helped him, and just as he was about to tell her that, she turned and began to swim away. 

“Find me if you want to dance, alright?”

The king murmured in response.   
...  
A half hour later the ball was in full swing, the music was delightful and Arthur had to begin socializing. 

But then a flash of red hair caught his eye, he quickly (and rather rudely) excused himself to find Mera, and maybe squeeze in a dance. 

However as he looked around for his girl, he found her dancing with another man. Arthur stared at them, then glanced at them man from head to toe. 

He was about her age, her height, he was obviously part of the nobility, his silver robes were shining and they were embroidered with green animals and shells. If he didn’t know any better he’d think they were together. 

That’s when he knew it was jealousy. The thought of Mera with someone else made him want to snap the man in half. And Arthur knew he could, he towered over the man by at least half a foot. 

Arthur then decided that enough was enough, Mera was with him, and while they hadn’t exactly talked through their relationship, Arthur wanted to be with her. And the man was in the way. 

He sauntered over to the edge of the dance floor, where Mera and the man swayed slightly, Arthur felt the stares of the people, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He only cared about Mera. 

“May I cut in?” Arthur asked, formally but then again, this was his princess. The man looked at him reverently yet fearfully (which made Arthur a bit giddy). 

“Of course, your highness. Mera, I’d love to finish our conversation, find me later?” 

Mera nodded and took position with Arthur, her left hand on his shoulder and her right hand in his. 

This feels right he thought to himself. 

“I think you scared him away, love” Mera whispered, placing her cheek on his chest “he’s still staring.”

“Who is he anyway.” He asked, trying and failing to sound unimpressed. 

“It’s not important.” She answered, then nibbled slightly in his ear “and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous.”

“Me, never?” He said, pulling her closer and kissing her cheek. 

 

2.  
Visiting the surface with Mera had seemed like a perfect trip at the start. Mera had met his father and they had gotten along swimmingly, both telling stories about his mother. Then they visited the beach and Mera had taken countless pictures as Ariel with the local kids, he then promised they’d watch the Little Mermaid together. 

But it started to go downhill when Arthur decided to take her to the bar. It was a cozy place (as cozy a bar could be) and he was kind of a local celebrity and he was familiar enough with the staff. 

They walked in and took a spot and the bar and were greeted with smiles and lots of questions, how they met, how long they’d been together, and they answered and ate. 

Honestly, Arthur was happy to show her off. He had never exactly had a girlfriend and he was glad to have Mera here with him. 

Until a group of young guys came into the bar, which wasn’t a problem until Arthur had to go to the bathroom. He excused himself and said they’d leave afterward. 

He returned to find one of the douche-bags flirting with his girl. Not that he can blame the guy, Mera was firey, snarky, witty, sassy, and not to mention gorgeous. He probably would’ve sparked a convention with her in his younger days. 

Arthur tried not to worry too much, he half expected Mera to slap the guy. But as he watched he saw her leaning in and laughing instead of pulling away in disgust. 

Arthur was absolutely not jealous but he wanted to get out of there. 

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck. 

“Let’s get out of here” he said. 

She seemed glad to be going and eagerly stood up from the stool, grabbing her bag. 

“Hold up a minute, we were just getting to know each other.” 

“I really should be going, we have plans.” Mera said obviously uncomfortable. 

As they walked out hand in hand, the guy grabbed Mera by the wrist. That’s when Arthur’s jealousy turn into protectiveness. Mera could take care of herself, yet the man had dared to put his hands on her and he had to step in. Mera jerked her hand away and ushered Arthur out of the door. 

But it was too late his mind was made up, Arthur’s fist connected with the mans jaw and he stumbled back. The bartender yelled, the guys friends gasped and put up their fists, but Mera had already pulled them through the door and into the parking lot. 

Arthur was expecting a scolding about how she was capable of taking care of herself. But, instead she grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles. 

“Are you ok, my king?” She asked.

He chuckled at the pet-name, he was her king and she was his princess. 

“This is nothing.” But she still looked concerned “we’ll talk more at home, but we should leave before that dick comes looking for us.”

With that Arthur helped her into the car and they drove away, hand in hand. 

 

3.  
This may be worse than the coronation Arthur thought.

He and Mera were hosting the entire court for the first time since the ball. He was in the throne room waiting for his mother, but instead of stressing about the arrival of the nobility, he couldn’t help think about Mera. 

This was the first time the princess would be reunited with the court of Xebel, since she had been staying in Atlantis with Arthur. 

It wasn’t that Arthur was scared of them, it was that Arthur was scared that they wouldn’t accept him, or him being with their princess. 

Despite the events at the ring of fire, Mera was still loved by the people, she was every bit a warrior princess. She would eventually be the warrior queen. 

And while he was accepted widely and loved by the majority, he still heard the occasional insult calling him a ‘half-breed’. And there were times when the insults got to him. 

There were times when he feared he wasn’t good enough for his Mera. Times he feared that she would be better off with one of the nobility from her own kingdom. Usually he held her tight as she assuaged his fears and calmed his nerves. But now was not one of those times. 

So he stood hidden behind a door in his own damn castle listening to 2 lords of Xebel talk about his princess. It wasn’t the fact that they were talking about his unworthiness, but the fact that they were describing Mera in a way nobody but the king, should be able to do. 

“But I’d be more interested in her hips and legs, she’s so tall and her legs are long and her hips... don’t even get me started.” One voice commented. 

“But have you seen her wear that little green number, it’s so tight and fitting, come on Kha’rim.” The second voice said. 

 

Ok so Kha’rim, now I have a name for one of those assholes he thought

He knew his anger was irrational, Mera was obscenely attractive, and her green suit was ridiculous, even Arthur had to admit that. Yet hearing them talk about her, she was with him, not them, him. 

But nobody else got to be with her, he was the only one who earned the right to hold her, kiss her, love her. 

Suck it, Kha’rim

But eventually as their conversation continued, he couldn’t stand it. He walked out from his area and opened the door. 

“See Mera wou- ah, good evening, your highness.” 

“Gentlemen” he answered roughly “I trust you’re enjoying yourself”

“Yes, it’s been lovely, especially seeing our princess again.” It was Kha’rim who spoke, dickwad.

“Mera has had a wonderful time seeing everyone, perhaps we’ll speak again later, but probably not, my princess keeps me very busy.” 

And with that Arthur walked away smirking. 

...

Arthur had completely forgotten about his encounter with Kha’rim and the other unnamed lord. 

Until he was lying in his bed, waiting for Mera, he hadn’t seen her all week, the visit had stressed her out almost as much as it did him. She gently knocked and he answered, beckoning her into his room. Technically, it was his room, but really it was theirs, he slept better when she was with him, amongst other things. 

She slipped into the bedroom and gracefully sat on the bed. He had been reclined in the bed but sat up to finally talk to her after the taxing week. However when Arthur went to kiss her check she pushed her finger into his lips to stop him. 

“I just had a very interesting conversation with an old friend” she said in a sing song voice. 

“Oh, really.” He replied. 

“Don’t act all high and mighty, Arthur, you may be king, but you can’t just go around insinuating our activities to the Xebelian nobility!” 

At first Mera seemed angry, but towards then end of her little tirade she seemed almost amused. 

Arthur let out a small laugh “Look  
Princess, your with me, and I love you, and while I enjoyed seeing their shocked faces, the nobility need to be reminded that you are my princess.”

Mera sighed and paused “I love you too, my king.”

And finally, Arthur got his kiss. 

 

4.  
So Arthur should’ve assumed that Mera would have to meet the justice league eventually, but he assumed it would’ve been planed. 

They were spending the day at the Curry light house and Arthur was attempting to show Mera all aspects of surface life. So obviously they had movie marathons, they started with the Disney classics, it was hilarious to see her watch Ariel sing on the screen, and Mera marveled at the Lion King. 

Today he planned to show his princess all of his childhood favorites, they were together on the couch, a blanket draped over both of them, about to click play-

Then there was a light knock, Arthur huffed a bit, then ignored it. 

Then a harder knock, followed quickly by,

“Curry, open up, we know you’re in there”-   
Bruce would ruin a day like this. 

“Who is it.” Mera asked gazing up at him with her wide eyes. 

“Some friends, I don’t know how long this’ll talk, stay here.” 

Arthur took his time answering the door, and finally yanked the door open asking,

“What do you want.” 

Berry, Bruce, and Diana all stood patiently at his door. 

Berry was the first to speak, mumbling “took long enough.”

Which earned him a slight slap on the chest from Diana. 

“Sorry to barge in on you, this shouldn’t take long” she said, kindly “May we come in?” 

He paused and put his arm between the doorway. 

“Yeah—I guess, just, uhh” he thought back to Mera waiting on the couch “there’s someone else insid-“ 

“Don’t worry, we’ll behave.” Bruce said sarcastically, moving his arm from the doorway and moving inside, and the others followed. 

They layout of the house meant that the living room was the first room you enter, so it was basically impossible to miss Mera sitting on the couch. So when he wasn’t bombarded with questions, he was surprised, and even more-so when Mera wasn’t sitting on the couch. 

He ushered them through the living room and into the kitchen, where Mera was picking at a bowl of popcorn. 

“What was that ab- ohh, hello, you must be Arthur’s... friends” she said recovering from her surprise gracefully. 

“You could say that.” Wonder Woman said “Diana Prince, of Themyscira.”

“Mera, princess of Xebel” 

That’s when Bruce, pulled Berry into the kitchen, holding some nautical trinket. 

“Guys, this thing is actu— hi, wow, ok so...” Berry stumbled and stuttered his way through an introduction. 

While it was ridiculously funny, Arthur stepped in “Mera this is Berry, he’s the fast kid I told you about and that’s Bruce, the guy with the bat obsession. Berry, Bruce this is Mera.”

“Pleasure” 

Bruce took her hand and held it for a moment. “Nice to meet you.”

Even Mera noticed his eyes linger a bit too long, the restless glances to her as they made small talk, she grabbed Arthur’s hand in an attempt to ease his anger. 

“So Mera, are you guys together or...” Diana asked, trying to move the conversation along. Bruce’s eyes on his princess the entire time. 

Arthur answered before she could,

“Yep, she’s awesome my queen.”

Bruce’s face fell, then turned to confusion. 

Now that, sparked the conversation.   
Arthur then realized that he basically told everyone that he and his girlfriend were married, in front of his girlfriend. 

“I thought you were the princess?”  
“She’s the queen of Atlantis?”  
“How long have you guys been married?”

They were bombarded with questions, and Mera sent him a glance that said ‘we’re so going to talk about this later, and you better not laugh about this because it isn’t funny, jackass’. 

“So what do you want... I mean why are you here?” Arthur (almost) shouted. 

That was that, and Mera quietly excused herself and returned to the living room. 

...

“So that was interesting.” She said as Bruce closed the door. 

He was about to apologize, tell her that it just slipped out, tell her he didn’t mean to. But she cut in again. 

“You know we’re not married, right. Or engaged. At least not yet. 

“Yes, I know.” She said not yet “ look I’m sorry, but come on-“ 

“As long as you know.”

And with that she grabbed his hand, kissed his knuckles, and pressed play.

 

5.  
It was supposed to be relaxing, casual even, but then Arthur remembered that he was the king, roaming the city with a very recognizable princess. But today swimming through the ruins of Atlantis while listening to his girl rant about history was well worth it. 

The nobility almost never visited this area of the fallen city, it was full of the old houses and smaller shops, so it was a (semi) new experience for Mera. Also seeing and swimming with the people was refreshing for Arthur. The king was getting tired of sitting in the palace all day. 

However, Arthur quickly realized that it wasn’t the fact that he was king that would ruin their relaxation- but the hoard of boys and men offering the princess all sorts of shells and small corals as sorts of gifts. Mera graciously accepted their tokens and they moved on, and continued their trip. 

As the couple progressed out of the old city and into the new, Mera insisted on showing him through the cities market place. It was his first time in the market and it reminded Arthur of the one in Aladdin- only underwater. 

Arthur and Mera went from booth to booth and the vendors offered various gifts and services to the king. And he (usually) declines politely. 

Until, they reached a booth full of vibrant corals and flowers. Arthur noticed Mera admiring a blush colored water lily obviously taken from the surface. Arthur went to grab the flower and tuck it behind her ear, the merchant appeared from behind the curtains. 

He looked obviously surprised to see royal at his shop so he replied with a formal yet warm greeting. 

The man was (relatively) tall and he wore a scaley red suit, with a translucent scarf tied around his waist, floating in the water behind him. He saw Mera eyeing the pink flower and saw to the other side of the booth where she stood, and delicately placed the lily in her hair. 

Mera blushed slightly, her cheeks matching the flower in color, and the man spoke again. 

“This lily comes from the coves off the landmass about 60 miles east, they’re extremely rare.” He spoke, watching Mera as she looked to the ground. 

“It’s beautiful,” Mera answered “as if your whole shop.”

And Mera began to pull the lily from behind her ear, but the vendor waved his hands and dramatically shook his head. 

“No, keep it, I insist, something that beautiful deserves something equally as gorgeous.” The merchant answered. 

Arthur huffed at his comments, he was the one who was supposed to give her flowers and tell her she’s beautiful. Not a random vendor. 

Mera thanked the man and hooked her arm through Arthur’s, and the worked their way to the end of the market. But the man couldn’t leave well enough alone, he called after Mera. 

“If you ever wish to leave the palace, you simply must see my gardens.”

Mera was hesitant to reply, but she answered, not wanting to seem rude,  
“We’ll see.”

“You know where to find me, my lady.”

That was the final straw for Arthur. It was one thing to offer the princess a flower. Another to call a beautiful woman beautiful- but to ask a taken lady on date, in front of her actual date- enough was enough. 

But he was in public and he was content with Mera on his arm peeking into different booths, so Arthur temporarily subdued his anger.   
...

Mera entered the bedroom the bedroom doning the same outfit, with the same flower in her hair. 

“Wasn’t it great to just be outside, with all the people. It’s been too long since I’ve been, we have to do it again soon.” She said a little too enthusiastically for his liking.

Then Mera gingerly removed the lily from  
her hair and began working out the tangles. 

“Ahhh yes, it was just a great time watching men flirt with you, really great.”

“Arthur” she gasped at his harsh sarcastic tone “you can’t be serious, that was just being polite.”

“How the hell is that not flirting ‘a beautiful flower for a beautiful girl’ not flirting my ass.” 

His anger boiled over, but the angrier he got the more amused Mera seemed- she kept sending him looks asking ‘are you done yet?’

Definitely not he answered in his head. 

“Princess, look, you’re gorgeous, stunning, proof the gods exist” Mera ducked her head “people notice you, wherever you go, but you’re with me. You’re mine, my girl, my princess, and eventually you’ll be my queen. Alright? So I’m sorry if I get a little possessive, but believe me, it’s warranted.” 

She gazed at him for a moment, then swam over to him. 

“I love you too, my king.”

 

+1  
Finally Mera thought finally

Finally she was married. 

Finally her title had changed, she was no longer the princess of Xebel, but the Queen of Atlantis. 

She was married. 

And not in the way she feared, she wasn’t pawned off as a clause in a contract. She wasn’t given away to some unforgiving ruler. 

She fell in love, with a soft man (despite his stature) although he was protective and possessive, he was passionate, kind, caring-perfect.

So she stood in the-her- throne room, beside her king. Arthur kept stealing glances at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, the court looked upon them proudly, and all seemed right. 

Throughout the night there was a fine feast, rhythmic music playing, and plenty of guests to entertain. 

When they first planned the wedding and the following coronation and ball, Mera expected to be the one doing to socializing and introductions and whatnot. Mera, however, was pleasantly surprised to find Arthur practically pushing her into the conventions. Always asking her opinions, inviting her into the banter. 

I got one of the good ones she thought when Arthur started bragging about how she held her own during the fateful battle. 

But that wasn’t the biggest surprise of the night for Mera (at least regarding her husband). 

That came when he and Mera went around speaking to the court of Xebel, whom they saw mere months ago. One of the Nobel men greeted them reverently, a brief nod. He shook Arthur’s hand firmly, them directed his attention towards the queen, grabbing her hand and placing a kiss that seemed far too long to Mera. 

But when she looked up at Arthur he just gazed into her eyes and they excused themselves.   
...

Mera was already tired of people, and was more than ready to spend her first married night with Arthur. She whispered just that in his ear, and the couple was gliding out of the ballroom within 20 minutes. 

On the long swim through the palace, they discussed the events of the (long) day. And Mera had the opportunity to take him in. Dressed in his traditional armor and the mandatory formal cape, Arthur looked every bit the king. His crown sat atop his flowing hair and a slight smile caressed his face as he spoke. 

“And your people seemed very happy for you, it was actually good seeing them again.” Arthur continued droning on. 

“And you weren’t at all jealous?” She asked, normally he’d be seeing red. 

“A bit, okay, a lot. But there’s no reason for me to be jealous.”

“Mmmhmmm and why is that, my king” 

“Because now, you’re my queen, and they all know it.”

Finally


End file.
